Vilnius. Trip, Vilnius hotels, placing to country.

Vilnius is the largest city and the capital of Lithuania. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County.

It is a rail and highway junction, commercial and industrial city, and a center of education and the arts.

The city is the cultural centre of Lithuania. The V. Kapsukas State University is the successor to the Jesuit academy of 1579, and the Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute was founded in 1969. There are institutes of fine arts and teacher-training schools and several theatres and museums. The art gallery occupies the former town hall, built in the 18th century.

Many historic buildings survive, representing the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and classical styles of architecture. The ruins of the Castle of Gediminas on Castle Hill dominate the old town, with its narrow, winding streets that climb the wooded slopes surrounding the confluence of the rivers. There are a 16th-century Gothic Church of St. Anne and a dozen 17th-century Baroque churches, notably the Church of SS. Peter and Paul.

Around the old town are the newer sectors of the city, with a rectangular street plan, large apartment blocks, administrative buildings, and modern factories. The historic centre of Vilnius was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.